| Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes (Pallas, 1772)) |
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Scientific name: Anthophora plumipes (Pallas, 1772) Common name: Hairy-footed Flower Bee French name: Anthophore commune, Anthophore plumeuse, Anthophore à pattes plumeuses. Order: Hymenoptera Family: Apidae Wingspan : 14 to 16 mm. Biotope: Open habitats with flowers. The nests are dug in clay slopes or in old adobe walls. Geographic area: Eurasia, from the British Isles to Japan, Near East, North Africa. Introduced to the United States. Observation period : March to June. |
The Hairy-footed Flower Bee is solitary bee which forages on deep-corolla flowers with its long proboscis. There is an important sexual dimorphism. You can recognize males with their long middle legs bearing fringes of very long hairs on the tarsi. They show very dense greyish brown or reddish brown hairs. The face is a very pale whitish yellow colour. The wings show three cubital cells of similar size. There are two forms of females, one dark blackish form and one pale brown form. The tibia 3 bears an orange-coloured, sometimes pale brown coloured, pollen brush. The nests ramify into several cells, each one with one egg and a stock of honey and pollen. There is only one brood per year. |
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Though a too short depth of field you can see the fringe of very long hairs on the middle legs' tarsi of this male. |
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You can clearly see the dense greyish hairs on this side view. |
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Close up view of the wing with the three cubital cells of similar size. |
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And here is the very pale whitish yellow face of the male. |
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Here is another male with its fringes of hair on the tarsi of the middle legs. |
André Bon February 2024